Pregnant women's use of the internet in relation to their pregnancy in Izmir, Turkey

Abstract

This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in order to determine the extent of internet use by pregnant women to gain information about their pregnancy. The research was conducted in two hospitals in Izmir, Turkey between August and October 2009, after written permission had been obtained. The research sample consisted of 185 pregnant women in at least the 28th week of pregnancy, who accepted to take part in the study. Forty-five percent of the pregnant women had used the internet to obtain information at least once during their pregnancy, and the most researched topics were fetal development, nutrition in pregnancy and the stages of birth. There is a significant difference between the age group, educational level, work status and number of pregnancies and the usage of internet among pregnant women. The women gave the information on the internet 7.13 ± 1.54 out of 10 points for correctness and dependability. Fifty-one percent of the pregnant women stated that they shared the information which they had obtained on the internet with health professionals. About half of the women in the study had used the internet to obtain information on pregnancy, birth and the fetus under various headings.